The Ghost
by Star Mirage
Summary: Shounen ai. Hanamichi was knocked down by a car and he became... a ghost. Nobody can see him, except of the one and only person - his enemy Rukawa Kaede. RuHana/HanaRu Romance.
1. The ghost?!

# The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: Shounen Ai. Hana&Ru story.  
Author's note: Special thanks to Bianka Lanon for her proofreading. Any comments are welcome!_

**Part 1 - "The ghost?!"**

Does it hurt?  
No...  
It's oddly...  
Why?  
Because I remember that I was knocked down by a car. It hurt. It hurt a lot... Earlier... But now it doesn't. Why?..

Hanamichi thoughtfully looked round the room and almost jumped out of the skin. His eyes were wide with horror.

"It can't be!.. It's impossible!.. I must be dreaming!.."

Before him on a bed was laid... he himself.

"But... How it can be?! If I'm here, then why I'm there?!"

He cautiously came nearer to his 'double' and took a look at him. The unusually pale, almost lifeless face... The bandages all over his body... The bandage on his head, on which fell disobedient red locks of hair... The heap of wires and devices... 

Hanamichi began to shiver. This double that lay before him resembled him very much... The boy reached his hand out to the stranger's shoulder.

"Hey, you!" he said. "Why are you so similar to me?! Huh?! Hey, wake up and answer to a tensai!"

But when Hanamichi was about to touch the boy's shoulder... his hand passed through boy as through thin air. Hanamichi did it again, but with the same results.

Then something clicked in his mind and with a panicked shout he recoiled from the motionless body. 

"Whaaaaa! I'm a ghost! Whaaaa!!!"

Yes, Hanamichi had became a ghost and there on a bed laid his own comatose body... Indignant, annoyed, the overanxious boy ran about the room, and yelled on at the top of his lungs.

"I'm a ghost! I don't wanna be a ghost! I'm a tensai, but how will I be playing basketball if I'm intangible, invisible and I'm a ghost!?.. I don't wanna be a ghost!.."

And etc. Endlessly. 

Tired of his own wails, Hanamichi wearily lowered himself to the floor. Having leant his back to the wall and extended his legs, he gloomyly stared at his former body. 

**End of part 1 **

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	2. Does somebody see me?

# The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: HanaRu story.  
Author's note: Special thanks to Bianka Lanon for her proofreading. Any comments are welcome!_

**Part 2 - "Does somebody see me?"**

"Don't worry. We'll be quiet", Akagi Haruko promised a nurse that attended to Hanamichi.

The nurse tried to object, but it was very difficult to resist to the really tall guys, who softly jostled her out of the room. Some men silently came into the room. There was almost whole basketball team of Shohoku High School, its manager Ayako, her assistant Haruko and Hanamichi's old friend - Youhei. The other people were waiting in a hall of the hospital. Everyone was looking at their unconscious friend. Ayako left down a corridor to ask the doctor about the condition of their red-haired teammate...

Hanamichi rose from the floor and rushed rejoicingly to his friends.

"Oi, guys! What are you doing here? Oh, yeah, you came to visit a tensai!.."

No reaction.

"Oi, Gori!" Hanamichi approached the nearest man and waved his hand before the person's face. "Hey! Do you hear me? I'm speaking to you!.."

The captain of Shohoku basketball team paid no attention. Hanamichi growled disgruntledly and turned to his old friend.

"You cannot see me either, Youhei?"

His friend has not answered either. He, as well as all people in the room, looked at the battered body on the bed. Hanamichi sighed sadly. Nobody saw him. Gloomyly, he walked around the room, stopping near everyone and experimentally waving a hand before their faces. 

"Can anybody see me?.. No?.."

Passing by Rukawa, Hanamichi stopped. That kitsune-eyes guy was dozing, leaning on the door-frame. Having folded his arms over a chest, Rukawa opened his eyes and looked sleepyly at Hanamichi. 

"What, kitsune? You've never seen a ghost?" sneered Hanamichi.

Rukawa looked him up and down... Then his eyes became wide; an expression of horror appeared on his face. And only then Hanamichi understood, that the boy saw not only that motionless body on the bed but also 'Hanamichi-ghost'. 

Rukawa paled and did that that he never did before. He fainted... 

**End of part 2**

**Japan vocabulary: **_kitsune_ - fox.

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	3. The ghost's visit

# The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: Shounen ai. HanaRu story.  
Author's note: Special thanks to Bianka Lanon for correcting my fic. Any comments are welcome!_

**Part 3 - "The ghost's visit"**

"Rukawa, are you ok?"

Rukawa opened his eyes and looked around. He was laying on the bed in a room adjacent to Hanamichi's. His excited and little surprised teammates crowded around of him. Haruko took away salammoniac, which she'd held before his face.

"Are you ok?" she repeated.  
"Yes," Rukawa blinked and stood up. "It just a headache."   
His face, as always, was emotionalless.  
"I'll better go home."

Having run an eye over all his teammates, Rukawa turned and left. 

"These past few days he's been acting strangely", he heard Miyagi's voice...

Rukawa quickly reached his home. Entering his room, he looked round perplexedly.

"I had a hallucinations", he said aloud. "Never thought that I would have them..."

He threw off his clothes and stepped under warm jets of water from the shower, calming his nerves.

" Can it be?!.. No. I'm dreaming... Seeing ghosts! And worse of all, that do-ahou's ghost..."  
" Hey, you! Who are you calling 'do-ahou', stupid kitsune?!"

Rukawa, frightened, screamed and looked around. Hanamichi was standing at the door. He simply looked at the naked guy, then violently flushed a few seconds later. 

"Oops", he said and went out 'through' the door. 

Some time later, Rukawa was still frozen with shock, but then warm water, still washing over his body, brought him to senses. He turn off the water with a shivering hand and, slipping on a terry-cloth robe, went out into his bedroom.

Athwart his expectations, this delirium, ridinghag, hallucination - no matter what it was, had not disappeared. The Hanamichi-ghost quietly sat on the bed and, with great interest, examined Rukawa's room.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Rukawa and thought it very absurd to talk with a phantom. "Did you die?"  
" No! I didn't!" Hanamichi was resentful.  
"But you're a ghost..."  
"I know!" The redhead exclaimed crossly. "I know that I'm a ghost! You think I like it? Like hell! But I'm not dead! I would felt if I was."  
"Then why are you like this?"  
"I don't know..."

Rukawa sighed and gave up. He cautiously bypassed the ghost and seated himself on the bed.  
"So what are you doing here?" he asked, returning to his first question.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was confused.  
"Well... You see... You are the only one who can see me... And... So... Hm..." he fell silent.

Rukawa silently examined the translucent silhouette of the redhead, who was sitting on his bed.  
"And how does it feels to be a ghost?" he asked, catching 'tensai' unawares.

Hanamichi thought for awhile. Then he shrugged.

"I'm unaccustomed to it; it's unusual... I feel nothing. I don't want to eat or sleep. I pass _'through' _things, but I cannot touch them... And it's nerve-racking..."

The black-haired boy suddenly rose from the bed.   
" Unlike you I am hungry."

And he directed himself to the kitchen. Hanamichi frowned, but followed his enemy and, now, his only collocutor. Rukawa quickly made _ocha_ for himself and cooked _megami-yaki _with _yasai_...

While Rukawa was eating, Hanamichi walked about the kitchen, passing _through_ all kinds of stuff on his way as he examined the kitsune-eyes boy's residence.

"Stop it!" Rukawa caved under.  
"What?" The redhead didn't understood. 

He looked at dark-haired boy. Rukawa's face had a slightly greenish tinge.  
"Stop walking _through _the things! I feel sick when you do that!.."

Hanamichi's face was illuminated by a mischievous smile.

"What, kitsune? The tensai got you?!"  
"Do-ahou..."

Rukawa cleaned the plates and went to his bedroom. 

**End of part 3**

**Japan vocabulary: **
_megami-yaki - _egg; _yasai - _vegetables; _ocha_ - green tea;

_do-ahou_ - idiot.

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	4. Movie

# The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: Shounen ai. HanaRu story._

**Part 4 - "Movie"**

"Hey, kitsune! Don't ignore me! I wanna talk."  
"But I wanna sleep."

Rukawa, already dressed in pyjama bottoms, buttoned his top, then quickly jumped under the covers. Hanamichi looked discontentedly at the blackhaired boy.

"I don't wanna sleep and I will not allow to you to do so", declared Hanamichi and begun to sing his favourite song. "Ore wa tensai!.."

To Rukawa's great surprise, he, who usually fell asleep in two seconds flat, now could not fall asleep. "Probably it's because of the shock, which I have gone throughout today," he thought. "Moreover, there is that do-ahou with his daft song!.." 

Meantime, Hanamichi sang his song really loudly for his only compelled, necessary listener.

"Shut up!!" Rukawa gave up. "Leave me alone!"

Hanamichi smirked contentedly. It wasn't often you got to see that kitsune losing his control and emotionalles facade. Now he wasn't the 'Ice King' he always was, but a furious cat.

"Leave me alone!" Rukawa shouted at the redhead.  
"But what I should to do?!" wondered Hanamichi. "I don't want to sleep. And being alone is boring."

Rukawa came up with an idea in an instant.

"Go and watch TV or videos!" he said.  
"Wow! That's a great idea!!" Hanamichi exclaimed with joy. "But... How I can turn on the TV? Have you forgotten - I'm a ghost?!.."

Rukawa growled angryly and rose up from his bed. He went downstairs into the living room and switched the TV on. Then he turned and went to his bedroom to sleep. Hanamichi watched Rukawa's retreating form, then seated himself in front of the TV set. They were showing an American film. "Ghost" - was its title.

"Wow, it's exactly like me!" Hanamichi exclaimed and started to watch the movie with unfeigned interest.

**End of part 4**

**Note: **_"Ghost"_ - the American film with the protagonist - Patrick Swayze.

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	5. Sleeping kitsune

# The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: HanaRu story.  
Author's note: Special thanks to Bianka Lanon for proofreading my fic. Any comments are welcome!_

**Part 5 - "Sleeping kitsune"**

An hour and a half later, Hanamichi was sitting on the floor near the coffee table and trying to concentrate on moving a coin that was just laying there from its place. He learned this trick from the movie he'd watched a few hours before.

"Concentrate!" He ordered himself. "Concentrate! I'm a tensai and I can do it! I just need to concentrate..."

For two hours Hanamichi tried to move the coin from the same place. Unsuccessfully. His fingers still passed through that damned coin... Hanamichi was mad as hell. But the result was still the same.

Till once...

During the next attempt, the coin moved.  
"?? ... !!"

Hanamichi tried it again. And onse again the coin moved... And again, and again...

"Hurrah!" The redhead's victorious shout shook Rukawa's residence. "I did it!"

He sprang joyfully to his feet and run to Rukawa's room.  
"Hey, kitsune! I can move the..." His voice tailed away when he saw that 'kitsune'.

Rukawa was sleeping on his back. His hands laid on the pillows and his head was inclined to one side... The covers enmeshed around his waist. His beautiful face, lit by moonlight and slightly shaded by a rich curtain of a hair, was peaceful and angelic... The redhead stood, frozen with his mouth wide open. He'd never seen Rukawa so peaceful, calm and open...

Suddenly Hanamichi felt a flush of tendernesses. He smiled and carefully took seat on the bed, looking at sleeping kitsune-eyes boy.

"He is beautiful..." Hanamichi thought. "He is beautiful... adorable... sexy..."

After a few instants, he come to his senses.

"Whaaa! What am I thinking about?! He is the stupid kitsune; nobody else! Just one pitiful, stupid, gloomy, cold, senseless..."

Suddenly Rukawa smiled in his dream and Hanamichi's deluge of epithets abruptly ceased. The spellbound redhead stared at that rare, attractive smile as if it was the eighth Miracle of World... Rukawa's smile was gone, but Hanamichi remained even as he continued to stare at sleeping boy.

"He is beautiful..." He repeated again and again. "He is so beautiful..."

**End of part 5. **

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	6. Surprise

# The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: HanaRu story.  
Author's note: Sorry for the mistakes that are in my fic. And don't forget to tell me what do you think about this fic._

**Part 6 - "Surprise"**

"Wake up, kitsune!"

Disgruntled, but not quite woken up, Rukawa shot his fist out reflexively, intending to punch the cause of his awakening. But... There was nobody around. So Rukawa thought it a false alarm and turned over on the other side, planning to return to sleeping.

At that instant, Rukawa's blanket was suddenly yanked off the bed. And a loud shout repeated itself.

"Kitsune, wake up!"  
"Huh?"

At first, Rukawa opened one his eye, then another... And with a frightened shout he clawed hold of the pillows. Then he remembered the night before and exactly what Hanamichi's ghost was doing in his house... But when Rukawa realized that the redheired boy was the one, who pulled his blanket off from him, the kitsune-eyed boy sat up abruptly.

"How did you do that?" he asked Hanamichi.  
"Huh?"   
"The blanket... How did you managed _'to take'_ my blanket _off_?"

The proud smile appeared on Hanamichi's face. He picked up the blanket, that was dropped before, and waved it in toreador-like manner. 

"Does it impressed on you?" asked Hanamichi and, looking at the shocked expression of kitsune-eyed boy, he understood that yes, it'd impressed him. "Well, last night I'd watched the movie about a ghost. At first, he passed through the things too, but then, concentrating, he learned to move and manipulate them."

Some time Rukawa simply stared at him, then nodded. Hanamichi smirked, imagining, how the dark-haired boy will meet his next surprise.

"Come on, kitsune. It's time for food", and, smirking, he added, "I fixed breakfast for you."  
"You did WHAT?!"

And as the redhead had expected, Rukawa's surprised expression was priceless. If you tell him that the Earth had ceased to rotate, he would take that more quietly. But now...

Now, stunned, Rukawa stared at the ghost with his eyes wide open. Hanamichi giggled with amusement. "Kawaii", he sighed, watching the dark-haired boy. "Well, kitsune, get up!" he uttered loudly. "It's time for breakfast."

Rukawa blinked once, but obeyed. He rose from the bed, took fresh clothes and went into bathroom to take a shower. Some minutes after, he returned, fresh and clean, and followed Hanamichi, who was expecting him.

Despite to Rukawa's expectations, that all this was a joke, the breakfast there really was. Apparently, the Hanamichi-ghost had drudgingly practised his new-found skill to use the things.

"Oh!" Rukawa threw a glance at the redhead and sat down the table. 

The breakfast was good. There were even -- 

"Mangos?!" Rukawa was surprised. He remembered perfectly the kind of food in his own house. And yesterday there had been no mangos anywhere.

"Where did you got it?" He asked with suspicion.

Hanamichi drooped his head. 

"Well... I'd visited a market... It was funny for me as a ghost..."  
"Did you steal it?" Rukawa asked him, even more suspiciously if that was possible, pointing at the fruits. Hanamichi kept silent. "Do'ahou" Rukawa reprimand Hanamichi.  
"Teme, kitsune!" the redhead exclaimed, but, surprisingly, calmed down almost in instant. "Ok. I will not do that again. I promise."

Rukawa merely shook his head. But then he said shyly. "Thanks," and got to eating. 

Hanamichi smiled...

**End od part 6.**

Japanese Terms: _Teme - _(Why) you!

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	7. The ghost's hanky-panky

# The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: Shounen ai. HanaRu story._

**Part 7 - "The ghost's hanky-panky"**

"Give me the ball! Give me the ball!" Hanamichi jamped around the dark haired boy, who was standing amid a court. 

It was evening, almost night. Rukawa had a difficult day today. All because of that do'ahou. The redhead had visited the hospital today, where his body still comatose, and then he joined Rukawa in a school. 

The kitsune-eyed boy sighed. It was hard to pay no attention to that do-ahou's tricks. The things that could have happened when a certain ghost visited the girl's locker room! Especially when there was a lot of girls. Yes, it was unforgettable! Did you see a blushing ghost? No? Nobody saw. Before. But today Hanamichi returned from there all red with confusion and he was at a loss for words for a whole 15 minutes!

After that Hanamichi decided to amuse himself by petty pranks. In his opinion, all phantoms do so. Consequently, it was more difficult to Rukawa to keep his face emotionalless. Because, who but him knew why suddenly a boy's chair had suddenly pulled back a foot and the poor boy sat on the floor instead of his chair? Or why the pupils, looking away for mere seconds, could not find their pens, books, and bags? And if they found them then these were another's. Or why in Rukawa's classmates' textbooks there appeared funny pictures and inscriptions...?

Hanamichi had a lot fun. It was more difficult to Rukawa to control him... Especially duirng basketball practice. The redhead yearned to be on the court. But it would be very strange to the extraneous eye, if a ball uddenly developed a mind of its own and began bouncing in the air. So Hanamichi limited himself to petty jokes. He sat on the basket and batted away balls that came near. It was odd; no one's shots were going on...

Especially, he liked to do so with Gori (aka Akagi). Everyone was surprised at what had happened today to the infallible captain. Akagi was furious. Because of that, practice was cut short. Everyone decided to pay a visit to Hanamichi in a hospital. 

Everyone but Rukawa. He took the keys to the gym from Akagi and remained to continue his practicing. When everyone had left, Rukawa could talk freely to Hanamichi. The redhead jumped around with impatience.

"Give me the ball!"

Rukawa, kept hold of the ball in his hands, narrowed, looking at the redhead. "One on one?" he asked.

"Ok!" Hanamichi exclaimed. "A tensai like me will win you easily in this match!"  
"Do'ahou..."  
"Teme, kitsune! Let's begin!"

Rukawa dribbled the ball and run to a basket. The game begun...

**End of part 7.**

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	8. Botan

# The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: HanaRu story.  
Author's note: Sorry for mistakes... ^^;; Any comments are welcome! _

**Part 8 - "Botan"**

Hanamichi-ghost turned out to be a much stronger opponent than Hanamichi-human. He was able jump higher than he had before. He was difficult for blocking, because the ghost could pass through Rukawa's body and take a ball away...

Rukawa needed all his forces and skills to not to lose. And for the first time, since they met, their match was finished with a minimal difference of score. 56:55. Rukawa won. Hanamichi was floating on his own personal seventh heaven, if it was appropriate to make such coparisons to a ghost...

The dark-haired boy sat on a floor, panting. He was tired, very tired... Rukawa had an eye on the red-haired ghost, who was running and jumping on a court. He, as well as an usual ghost, did not feel weariness at all.

"Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

Rukawa and Hanamichi together looked back. There was a girl in pink kimono, who was poised on oar in meter above the floor. She had a light-blue hair collected in high ponytail. The girl waved affably to Hanamichi.

"Hi! I'm Botan - a ferry-girl of souls to the Reikai."

Surprised, Hanamichi stared at the girl; his eyes wide with shock. He never saw the girls, who were flying on the oars. For Rukawa this 'flying' Botan was unusual phenomenon as well, but by force of habit, he did not show any sign that of surprise.

"What do you want?" Rukawa asked the girl.

"Huh?" Botan seemed to be very much surprised. In a lightning fast motion, the girl appeared before the fox-eyed boy. She gazed at him dazedly. 

"You are alive," she summarized, puzzled.  
"Of course I'm alive!" Rukawa snapped.

Botan flew around him and stopped in front of him again. 

"But the living people can not see me!" She wondered.  
"WHAT?!" the boys exclaimed simultaneously.

With loud whack the ball dropped out of hands of a shocked Hanamichi. Then there was an awkward pause. The improbable scenarios, versions and suppositions began to spin in the both boys' minds.

Suddenly Botan slapped herself on the forehead. "Oh! How stupid I am! I almost forgot that the people with a strong 'ki' can see me as well".

The girl opened a big book, which she pulled out from a sleeve of her kimono and, having looked through it, nodded to her thoughts.

"You are Rukawa Kaede and you are really alive. Still... Sorry boys, I'm just used to deal with the souls of the dead, so I almost forget about live people sometimes... Sorry again. But you have a really strong ki, Rukawa-san!"

Botan smiled cheerfully and hid the book back into her sleeve. Meantime, Rukawa and Hanamichi had recovered from shock. Rukawa rose from the floor and the redhead boy came up to him. And now both boys doubtfully looked at 'the spirit's guide'.

"So what do you want of me?" Hanamichi asked, frowning.

The bright smile of pink-haired girl disappeared immediately. She frowned as well. Fiddling with her kimono, she didn't know what to begin from. Her embarrassment was so obvious that the suspicions grown in Rukawa's mind.

"You said that you are the soul's guide to the Reikai... Did... Did Sakuragi die?"

Shocked, Hanamichi looked at Rukawa then at the girl. Botan bit her bottom lip.

"Well," she responded finally. "No. He _is not_ dead _yet_." Hanamichi sighed with relief. "But he _is _dying _now_."

**End of part 8.**

**Japanese Terms: **
_Ki - _spiritual energy;

_Reikai_ - the spirit world.

**Note: **_"Botan the Reikai ferry-girl _" is from anime/manga "Yu Yu Hakusho".  
Well, I like YYH too, so you can see my YYH-site [http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Market/6222/main_en.html][2] .

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Market/6222/main_en.html



	9. Applying for help

The ghost - part 9 The ghost

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

__The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: You know already: . . . Shounen ai . . . HanaRu story.  
Autors note: Thnk you, people, for reviews! I really appreciate it!

****Part 9 - "Applying for help" 

"What?!"

"Yes," Botan told Hanamichi. "How to explain it...? Well, look, there is a link between every body and soul. When a people dies, it breaks. On the other hand, you are not yet dead, but since your spirit has left your body, you receive energy for movement via the link. This results in your vital power beginning to peter out... Therefore, you're dying."

Hanamichi, frowning, looked at the ground.

"So you come to take my soul away?"  
"No," the blue-haired girl replied. Hanamichi sighed with relief and she continued."The fact is that it is not time for you to die. There is a way to save you."

Hanamichi looked up impatiently. "Which~? Which way?"

Botan stole a glance at Rukawa, who was listening to their conversation. "Yes, there is a way to save you. Someone with strong ki could share it with you."

Instantly, Hanamichi frose deep in thought. But then an idea flashed through his mind. He turned to Rukawa.

"Hey, kitsune! As she said, you've got strong ki, so you _must _help me!"

Rukawa just looked silently at the red-haired boy, expecting arguments about why he 'must' do it. In his opinion, he owed nothing to anyone. Botan looked silently from one boy to the other, not interrupting their unilateral conversation.The red-haired 'tensai' tried to press on Rukawa's sense of duty, trying a call to principle, 'to aid for a neighbour'; he even tried to blackmail Rukawa. That is to say that Hanamichi tried to ask for help in the most ridiculous way. The fox-eyed boy still looked silently at the arrogant ghost.

Botan consulted her watch. 

"Umm... Sakuragi-san," she interrupted the beginning of Hanamichi's next argument. "Hurry up. You have only about 5 minutes. After that you really will die."

Hanamichi paled. His bravado instantly disappeared. The panic was easy to read on his face. Somehow, he looked lost and vulnerable.

"Please, Rukawa help me," he said in an almost-whisper. "I don't want to die so young..."

Rukawa looked at his unhappy expression and sighed. "Okay," he said. "But you owe me for this. Let's get moving."

Hanamichi's face was illuminated with a bright, grateful smile. "Thanks, kitsune!" 

Looking at them from her oar, the girl smiled happily. "Come on guys!" She patted the section of the oar behind her. "Quick, sit down! We have very little time." Having noticed distrustful looks that both players shot at her oar, Botan added. "Make haste or else we will be late!"

The boys nodded and hurried to the spiritual guide - the girl with an oar.

**End of part 9.**

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	10. Kiss of life

The ghost - part 10 The ghost 

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.   
Warning: HanaRu story (or is it RuHana here?)_

**Part 10 - "Kiss of life" **

Despite their haste, Rukawa remembered to lock the gym as they left. All three sat themselves on the oar, and then... Then there was something indescribable.

"This Botan has a distorted concepttion about a good flight." Rukawa thought, wrestling with nausea and barely winning. He clung to the oar as if for dear life. But Botan, smiling serenly, handled her oar like a crazy kamikaze fighter pilot. She constantly changed altitudes, made sharp bankings, nosedives, loops, and other crazy aerobatic moves. Maybe she wanted to show off her skill or maybe just avoid certain obstacles in the air, which only she could see...

In the meantime, her passengers were too busy trying to still their stomachs to notice her flying skills. Not only Rukawa suffered from crazy flight. Even Hanamichi had a greenish tint to his face. It was good thing that people below didn't see them. Or else it would be an interesting show: three humans, flying on an oar. According to Botan's words, people could not see her and Hanamichi, though. But Rukawa... Yeah, it would be interesting...

It seemed to Rukawa that an eternity passed before they reached the hospital. In fact, only a couple of minutes had passed. Dexterously diving in through the window, Botan flew into Hanamichi's room.

Jumping down onto the floor, Rukawa swore ilently that he would never ever fly with Botan on her oar again. With no small amount of relief, Rukawa noticed that his teammates, who were visiting Hanamichi before, had already left. It was quiet in the room, except for the low murmur of the life-support machine.

Meanwhile, something had happened to the ghost. He became more transparent. Carefully kneeling down near the bed, Hanamichi stared discomposedly at his comatoze 'twin'. Having thrown a sad glance at Rukawa, the redhead again turned to his prone body. 

"So how should I help him?" Rukawa asked Botan.

Confused, the girl started to fiddle with her kimono. "You... You have to kiss him..."

"WHAT?!" the two boys exclaimed simultaneously.  
"Yes," Botan reaffirmed, her voice small. "You have to kiss him and use mouth-to-mouth to give him part of your ki."  
"NO," Rukawa objected resolutely. The ice eyes looked at the girl unhesitatingly.  
"Huh?"  
"I WILL NOT KISS HIM," he repeated clearly.  
"But... That is the only way to save him!" Botan exlaimed, glaring at the fox-eyed boy.  
"No."

At this time they heard the small sad laughter of the phantom boy. 

"I wish I had more time..." Hanamichi lifted his almond-shaped eyes to Rukawa. "Bye, Kitsune..."

And the Hanamichi-ghost disappeared into thin air. In the same instant all the devices went off, beeping like crazy. On the screen monitoring his heartbeat, there was only a flat line where before there had been high spikes.

"Hurry up!" exclaimed Botan, pushing Rukawa to Hanamichi's body. "He's dying! You have only a minute before the doctors come. And belive me, they cannot save him. Only you! You're his last hope!"

_'...You're his last hope!...'_ Rukawa, discomfited, looked at the still body of his eternal foe... Then with a sigh he bent over Hanamichi. "You owe me for this, do-ahou."

With that he pressed his lips to Hanamichi's. He tried to transmit a part of his ki through the kiss...

And only Botan could see as Rukawa's bright ice-blue aura began to merge with weak orange one of the red-haired boy. The Hanamichi's aura became stronger and stronger, accepting given energy...

The life-support machines ceased their high-pitched whining and begin to work normally again. The straight line disappeared from cardiac display, replacing by an encouraging curve. Botan smiled joyfully. 'Now this redhead will survive.' 

The girl carefully touched Rukawa's shoulder. The boy parted from Hanamichi and looked back at her.

"We should leave here immediately, if you don't want to explain yourself to the doctors."

Rukawa nodded and looked round in search of an exit. Botan spat on her oar behind her. Rukawa frowned, but the noises of footsteps and voices discouraged him. 'So where is my promise never to fly with this crazy girl now?' He jumped with a surprising amount of dexterity onto Botan's oar and the girl promptly directed her vehicle out through the window.

A mere second later, the concerned doctors ran into the room...

**End of part 10.**

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



	11. I owe to you

The ghost - part 11 The ghost 

by [_Star Mirage_][1]

_The standard disclaimer - Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue and etc.  
Author's note: It is the last part! Oh yeah!Mmm ... I hate to write such pathetic things, but I really wish to give Ru&Hana a happy ending. /Not really to them but to the story/. So, bear it. ^^ By the way, this story somehow turned from HanaRu into RuHana. ^_^;; But I hope you'll like it. And tell me what do you think about this fanfic._

**Part 11 - "I owe to you" **

Rukawa silently looked at the redhead, who was running on a court and dribbling a ball. 'As if nothing had happebed,' Rukawa thought with a slight sadness.

A week already passed from the moment of Hanamichi's discharge from hospital. But contrary to doctors' advice, he returned to the basketball court almost immediately.

'As if nothing had happebed...'

Hanamichi still was the same noisy, blustery, boastful, hyperactive boy and full with of a whole arsenal of his favourite self-glorifications... And he still fought with Rukawa...

Rukawa sighed. He himself didn't want to squabble with that redhead. Because it was more interesting to be his friend. Well, at least not a rival... With an unnoticed smile, Rukawa remembered that day that he spent along with the ghost; Hanamichi's visitation of a girl's locker room; the ghost's tricking Gori; a breakfast, which was fixed for him by Hanamichi...

The fox-eyed boy sighed again. 'As if he absolutely forgot about himself being a ghost... Maybe it's true, that's the way it is...' Rukawa cast one last glance at the redhead boy and turned away, getting back on the court.

Practice was finished after half an hour . Everyone had left the gym, except for two guys. Rukawa was doing his usual personal training, and Hanamichi had stayed on for additional exercises, trying to speed along the restoration of his skills after the long hospital-break more quickly. It was silent in the gym, not taking into account the squeaking of sneakers and sound of basketballs slapping the hardwood.

"Hey, kitsune! How about one-on-one?" Hanamichi asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

The fox-eyed boy turned to look at him blankly. Then he put aside his ball and nodded.   
The game began...

Rukawa quickly found that Hanamichi was not so fast and not so agile as before the hospital stay. During one of his attempts to block the fox-eyed boy, the redhead tripped over his own leg and with thud he fell, carrying Rukawa along with him.

Groaning, Rukawa rubbed his sore forehead, because Hanamichi bumped him really hard. He was desperately trying to ignore the fact that the redhead was pressing him into the floor with his full weight...

"Do-ahou," Rukawa uttered discontentedly, lifting his eyes only to find Hanamichi staring at him strangely.

In fact, Hanamichi's look was warm as he was looking at his archenemy. It was strange... Even more strange was that Hanamichi hadn't reacted in any way, calling him an 'idiot'. Instead of name-calling, he stared at the boy under him with a soft smile. Rukawa frowned silently, when Hanamichi gently touched his face with one hand. There was an admiration easily read in the redhead's eyes.

"Kitsune," Hanamichi whispered very softly, barely audible.

Then he leaned down and kissed the puzzled boy. A primarily timid kiss soon turned to a hungry and passionate one. Rukawa gave up to redhead's insistence and parted his lips. Hanamichi quickly took advantage of it. Slipping his tongue between those soft lips, he enjoyed the heat and velvet of Rukawa's mouth... Hanamichi passionately kissed the fox-eyed boy; the redhead's hands wandered all over Rukawa's shapely body, causing a shiver of desire... 

Some time after, they parted away, gasping for air.

Stunned, Rukawa glared at the redhead above him. There was passion flaming in the penetrating ice eyes, but the face remained emotionless. Panting and blushing, Hanamichi stared back at him.

"I owed you a kiss." He smiled, answering Rukawa's unspoken question. "You... You saved my life back there. I do remember that. So~" With confusion Hanamichi paused, lowering his eyes, then looked again into those bright blue depths. "So from now my life belongs to you."

Rukawa's eyes widened with the shock of such proposition. Then in an instant his features softened and a fleeting smile flashed on his lips. Hanamichi, who was watching him with much trepidation, relaxed, spellbound by that smile.

"Kitsune, you have to smile more often," he told him, not averting his look from Rukawa's lips. "I love your smile." Then knowledge blossomed in his heart and, staring into fox-shaped eyes, he whispered. "And I love you too, Kaede..."

With that, Hanamichi leaned down to the silent boy and kissed him again. Not having received the desired reaction from Rukawa, Hanamichi moved over.

"Do-ahou," Rukawa suddenly uttered by his typical cold voice.

Hanamichi froze. Pain, disappointment, rejection and despair were distinctly seen in his eyes. Rukawa wrapped his arms around of redhead's neck and, drawing him closer, whishpered in Hanamichi's ear.

"Do-ahou ... But you are my do-ahou."

More to redhead's surprise, Rukawa closed the distance between them and kissed his former foe. 

'I think I love you too, Hanamichi...'

**END.**

   [1]: mailto:stmirage@crosswinds.net



End file.
